Distributed coupled resonator laser

ABSTRACT

A laser system involving coupled distributed resonators disposed serially, with the lasing gain medium located in the main resonator and the output of that resonator being directed into a free space resonator, such that the main resonator output mirror is effectively the free space resonator. The distributed resonators end mirrors are retroreflectors. Interference occurs between light traveling towards the remote mirror of the free space resonator and light reflected therefrom, generating regions of high reflectivity. The coupling of the free space resonator to the regions of high reflectivity of the free space resonator enables the first resonator to lase efficiently, even though the true reflectivity of the main resonator output mirror outside of those regions is insufficient to enable efficient lasing, if at all. This coupled resonator structure enables lasing to occur with a high field of view and the high gain engendered by the high reflectivity regions.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a continuation of U.S. patent application Ser. No.15/548,229, which is a National Phase application filed under 35 USC §371 of PCT Application No. PCT/IL2016/050119 with an Internationalfiling date of Feb. 2, 2016, which claims priority of U.S. PatentApplication 62/125,830 filed Feb. 2, 2015. Each of these applications isherein incorporated by reference in their entirety for all purposes.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the field of distributed cavity lasers,and especially those incorporating coupled distributed resonators inwhich the modes propagating in each of the resonators areinterdependent.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

In the PCT application PCT/IL2006/001131, published as WO2007/036937 for“Directional Light Transmitter and Receiver”, and in the PCT applicationPCT/IL2009/000010, published as WO/2009/008399 for “Wireless LaserPower”, and in the PCT Application PCT/IL2012/000230 published asWO/2012/172541 for “Partially Distributed Laser Resonator”, all having acommon inventor with the present application, there are shown variousaspects of wireless power delivery systems based on distributed laserresonators. This term is used in the current disclosure to describe alaser having its cavity mirrors or end reflectors separated in freespace, having a gain medium between the cavity mirrors, and without anyspecific predefined spatial relationship between the cavity mirrors,such that the laser is capable of operating between randomly positionedend reflectors. The end reflectors need to be retroreflectors for thisconfiguration to lase. In the above mentioned applications, one use ofsuch distributed laser resonators is in transmitting optical power froma centrally disposed transmitter, which for practical purposes,incorporates the gain medium, to mobile receivers positioned remotelyfrom the transmitter, with the end mirrors being positioned within thetransmitter and receiver. Such distributed laser resonators use, as theend mirrors of the cavity, simple retroreflectors, such as corner cubes,and cats-eyes and arrays thereof. Retroreflectors differ from planemirror reflectors in that they have a non-infinitesimal field of view(FOV hereinbelow). An electromagnetic wave front incident on aretroreflector within its FOV is reflected back along a directionparallel to but opposite in direction from the wave's source. Thereflection takes place even if the angle of incidence of such a wave onthe retroreflector has a value different from zero. This is unlike aplane mirror reflector, which reflects back along the incident path onlyif the mirror is exactly perpendicular to the wave front, having a zeroangle of incidence.

Prior art distributed resonator lasers are limited by a very stricttradeoff between FOV and gain. This limitation, which is common to alllaser gain medium types, comes from physical limitations which can bedescribed as follows, using a laser with a gain medium havingamplification α. A single photon injected into the laser gain mediumcauses a photons to be emitted therefrom. The gain medium must conserveenergy, such that the energy it emits cannot exceed the energy itconsumes plus any incoming energy. For that reason, every laser gainmedium has a saturation effect. The gain available for a small amount ofenergy well below the saturation level, injected into the gain medium iscalled “small signal gain”, and the gain available during steady stateoperation, in which the laser output and losses are exactly matched, iscalled the “saturated gain”.

Every laser gain medium amplifies two types of incoming light, lightcirculating inside the laser resonator, and random photons that may beeither spontaneous emission from the gain medium itself or randomscattered photons coming from the circulated optical power or from othersources. When the light from random photons is amplified so much by thegain medium that it produces intensities similar to the saturationintensity of the gain medium, then the amplification of random lightwill significantly reduce the gain available for laser gain. In such acase, increasing the pumping energy will have the following effects:

(i) Worsen thermal problems and energy consumption;

(ii) Increase the population inversion, approximately linearly with pumppower, though more generally, less then linearly;

(iii) Increase the gain per mm length approximately linearly;

(iv) Increase the amount of energy lost by amplification of randomphotons, approximately exponentially; and

(v) Reduce the energy available for amplification of resonating photons.Thus, there must be some limit of gain for a gain medium, beyond whichthe gain cannot be increased.

While the level of random photons traveling in directions outside thesystem's FOV can be limited by use of apertures and other means,apertures cannot be used to limit photons traveling inside the FOV butnot towards the receiver. Various techniques have been developed toreduce the repetitive bouncing back and forth of spontaneous photonsbetween internal laser components, other than those photons taking partin the main laser mode. Some such methods are suggested in U.S. Pat. No.5,936,984 to H. E. Meissner et al, for “Laser rods with undoped flangedend-caps for end-pumped laser applications”. However, it is stillimpossible to block one-way traveling random photons within the FOV ofthe system, and for that reason there is an inherent tradeoff betweenthe FOV of a gain medium, and the maximal available gain it can produce.

This phenomenon is summarized in an article by G. J. Linford et al,entitled “Very Long Lasers” published in Applied Optics, Volume 13, No2, Page 379-390 (1974) as well as in most textbooks on lasers, such asin the classic work by A. E. Siegman entitled “Lasers” published byUniversity Science Books, (1986), both of which are hereby incorporatedby reference each in their entirety.

High gain is especially important in distributed resonator lasers, inorder for the system to be resilient to losses, some of which arespecifically inherent in such lasers, both because of the exposure ofthe resonator to the environment and because distributed resonators aretypically long compared to their beam diameter. Such losses include:

(i) Diffraction losses from small aperture optics;

(ii) Dust, fingerprints and other contaminants;

(iii) Misalignment;

(iv) Absorption during passage of the beam through the air;

(v) Scattering from optical components; and

(vi) Reflections from optical components.

In the above referenced article by Linford et al, the field of view wasseverely limited in order to achieve high gain. Thus there is stated onpage 381 of that article in connection with expression (10) thereof,which relates the laser amplifier single pass small signal gain to theFOV, that:

-   -   The active solid angles of these laser amplifiers were of the        order of 10-5 sr. the solid angle corresponds to an active        angular field of only a few milliradians. The SF-limited optical        gains of the high gain Xenon laser amplifiers were measured to        range from 30 dB to 35 dB (single pass gain); this agrees well        with the 30 dB amplifier gain limit predicted by expression (10)

Since distributed resonator lasers of the types described in the abovereferenced PCT applications, are intended for transmitting power toreceivers located over a large area opposite the transmitter, the lasersmust have a high FOV, and hence suffer from low gain as a result.

There exist techniques for increasing the FOV, such as the inclusion ofa telescope, as suggested in the above referenced WO/2012/172541 for“Partially Distributed Laser Resonator”, and elsewhere, but at the costof decreasing beam diameter and range, since a smaller beam diameter hasa shorter Rayleigh length. However it must be noted that such techniquesdo not solve the problem of losses arising from amplified spontaneousemission resulting from scattering of laser light by dust, aircontamination, optical component contamination, and so on, and do notchange the nature of the fundamental limitations presented above.

High gain is extremely important in order for a real system to beoperational. Many of the losses inherent to distributed laserresonators, such as those arising from such effects as fingerprintsbecause of their open exposure to the environment, or diffraction lossesin a very small receiver with small aperture optical elements, such aswould be installed on a mobile telephone, can easily reach the order of50%. It is to be understood that the term “losses” in this contextrefers to light that is absorbed, scattered, reflected, or otherwiselost from the main lasing modes. Thus, for example, in the case offingerprints, most photons are not lost in the conventional sense, butare seen as being lost by the laser since the light is scattered outsidethe main lasing modes.

There is a relation between the saturation intensity and the opticalpower level of an operating laser. Saturation intensity Is is a propertyof the laser gain material, and is defined as the input intensity atwhich the gain of the optical amplifier drops to exactly half of thesmall signal gain. The saturation intensity Is can be computed as:

$I_{s} = \frac{h\;\upsilon}{{\sigma(\upsilon)} \cdot \tau_{s}}$where:h is Planck's constant,τ_(s) is the saturation time constant, which depends on the spontaneousemission lifetimes of the various transitions between the energy levelsrelated to the amplification, andv is the frequency in Hz.

In an operating laser the intensity of the beam circulating inside theresonator is typically of the same order of magnitude as the saturationintensity, as it tends to grow until saturation kicks in.

It is very advantageous for a distributed laser system to have thecirculating power inside the resonator as low as possible, as this wouldresult in:

(i) Better safety, since the cavity is open to the environment, and allrisks are directly proportional to the level of circulating power; and

(ii) A lower laser threshold and improved efficiency, since the laserthreshold is proportional to saturation intensity.

Therefore, the saturation intensity of the gain medium of “safetylimited” or “efficiency limited” distributed laser system needs to be aslow as possible. However low saturation intensity also means that alarger beam area is needed to amplify the required power, sinceintensity is lower, which in turn means higher threshold power. On theother hand, a lower saturation intensity leads to a lower maximal gain,as explained in the above referenced article by Linford et al, andeventually poses a limit on the field of view.

There therefore exists a need for a distributed resonator laser systemwhich has high gain combined with a large field of view, so that thegain is high enough to be able to overcome the inherent losses ofdistributed resonators, thus overcoming at least some of thedisadvantages of prior art systems and methods.

The disclosures of each of the publications mentioned in this sectionand in other sections of the specification, are hereby incorporated byreference, each in its entirety.

SUMMARY

The present disclosure describes new exemplary distributed resonatorlaser systems, which enable the generation of lasing power which can bepropagated over a large field of view it without sacrificing the gainwhich would be expected from a prior art laser having a similarly largefield of view. The distributed resonator systems of the presentdisclosure thereby enable the laser power to be transmitted over a widearea yet without sacrificing the need for a high gain to overcomeintrinsic laser gain material losses, and losses arising fromtransmission over the length of the distributed resonator system. Suchdistributed resonator systems can therefore transmit efficientlygenerated laser power to a remote receiver which can be situatedanywhere over a substantially larger field of view than that availablein prior art conventional distributed resonator laser systems, such asthe above referenced distributed resonator laser system of Linford etal. In comparison with the prior art distributed resonator laser systemsdescribed in the above referenced published PCT applications,WO2007/036937, WO/2009/008399 and WO/2012/172541, the distributedresonator laser systems of the present disclosure have the additionaladvantage that the lasing power level in the propagating region betweenthe transmitter and the receiver is substantially lower, and hence saferfor use in a laser power transmission scheme from a static transmitterto a roving receiver such as a mobile electronic device like a portablephone. Additionally, the distributed resonator laser systems of thepresent disclosure provide a higher immunity to the effects ofatmospheric absorption or surface contamination of any exposed opticalelements of the system.

The distributed resonator laser systems of the present disclosure havestructures involving coupled distributed resonators disposed serially,with the lasing gain medium located in one of the resonators, and theoutput of that resonator being directed into a second resonator, whichis a free space resonator, such that the effective “output mirror” ofthe first resonator is the entire second free space resonator. If themirrors of the free space resonator are effectively parallel, there willbe interference between light traveling towards the remote mirror of thefree space resonator, and light reflected from the remote mirror of thefree space resonator, as is known from conventional etalons. As a resultthe free space resonator resonates at a comb of wavelengths, havingregions of high reflectivity interspersed with regions of lowreflectivity where the interference occurs. The coupling of the freespace resonator to the lasing resonator containing the gain medium meansthat in the regions of high reflectivity of the free space resonator,the effective output mirror of the first resonator with the gain mediumhas a high reflectivity, therefore enabling the first resonator to laseefficiently. Because of the very remote spacing of the mirrors of thefree space resonator, the comb of its wavelength response is very dense,such that within the lasing line width of the gain material, there are alarge number of wavelengths at which the free space resonator exhibitshigh reflectivity characteristics.

Because the free space resonator is a distributed resonator havingretroreflectors at both ends, the light reflected from the free spaceresonator is concentrated at a small spot on the output mirror of thefirst resonator, which can be diffraction limited if the focusingelements of the free space resonator are correctly positioned to placethe input pupil at this output mirror of the first resonator. As theremote mirror of the free space resonator moves around the field of viewof the system, this spot will moves accordingly on the surface of theoutput mirror of the first resonator. If now this output mirror isselected to have a reflectivity sufficiently low that the firstresonator with the gain medium is operating below the threshold lasing,or very slightly above it, then without the coupled free spaceresonator, the first resonator will not lase, or will lase withextremely low efficiency. However at the spot on the output mirror ofthe first resonator which corresponds to the position of the effectivehigh reflectivity of the free space resonator, the reflectivity of theoutput mirror may be sufficiently high to enable efficient lasing of thefirst resonator, with part of the intracavity optical power beingtransmitted through the output mirror into the free space resonator. Bythis means it becomes possible to generate lasing and to transfer powerfrom the lasing first resonator to the remote mirror of the coupled freespace resonator when there is such a remote mirror within the field ofview of the first resonator. Furthermore, even though the gain mediumand its resonator have dimensions and properties that provide it with alarge field of view, this resonator can still have a high gain, and cantherefore lase efficiently, because of the effective high reflectivityof the output mirror at the spot at which the mode reflected from theremote mirror of the free space resonator is coupled to the outputmirror of the main resonator with the gain medium. By this means thereis therefore provided a cavity with the elusive combination of high gaintogether with a large field of view.

This combination then has the following additional advantages. By usinga remote mirror as an output coupler with a comparatively lowreflectivity, it becomes possible to output almost all of the powercirculating in the free space resonator. Furthermore, because the lasingtakes place only in the main resonator with a gain medium, and becauseof the high effective reflectivity of the partial reflecting mirror atthe output of this main resonator, only a part of the lasing power istransferred from the main resonator to the free space resonator. Thiscoupled combination therefore provides the ability to transfer lasingpower generated at high efficiency in the main resonator, to aretroreflector at the remote end of the free space resonator, withoutthe presence of high lasing power within the free space resonator.Furthermore as the remote mirror of the free space resonator movesaround, the high reflectivity spot on the output coupler mirror of themain lasing resonator tracks the motion of the remote mirror of the freespace resonator, thus fulfilling all of the requirements for theefficient and safe transfer of optical power from the main lasingresonator to the remote mirror of the free space resonator, from whereit can be coupled out to provide power to be used by the remote device.

This coupled distributed resonator lasing system has been described forthe situation in which there is a single free space resonator coupledserially to the main lasing resonator. Other implementations are alsopossible in which, by the use of a beam splitters or partial reflectingmirrors disposed at an angle to the axis of the free space resonator,the output beam from the main lasing resonator can be coupled into morethan one free space resonator, such that all of the resonators caninteract with each other, as will be explained in the detaileddescription section hereinbelow. However the common feature of all ofthese conflagrations is that lasing in the main resonator containing thegain medium is enabled by means of at least one coupled ancillaryresonator which presents itself to the beam resonating within the mainresonator, as a high reflectivity element, by virtue of the beamresonance within the at least one coupled ancillary resonator.

Additionally, the retroreflectors have been generally described in thisdisclosure as being made up of a lens positioned at its focal lengthfrom a planar reflector, but it is to be understood that this is onlyone convenient way by which such retroreflectors can be constituted, andthis disclosure is not intended to be limited to such configurations.Mirrors having optical power with planar reflectors, or retroreflectorsin the form of cats' eyes, or any other suitable retroreflectors,appropriate for the present systems, are also intended to be covered bythe term in this disclosure.

There is thus provided, in accordance with one exemplary implementationof the devices described in this disclosure, a distributed resonatorlaser system, comprising:

(i) a first distributed resonator comprising:

(a) a rear retroreflector having high reflectivity,

(b) a laser gain medium and

(c) an output retroreflector, having a reflectivity substantially lessthan that of the rear retroreflector, and

(ii) a second distributed resonator comprising a first retroreflectorand a second retroreflector from which energy is coupled out of thelaser system, wherein the first and second distributed resonators aredisposed serially such that the output retroreflector of the firstdistributed resonator is the first retroreflector of the seconddistributed resonator.

In such a distributed resonator laser system, the distance between thefirst and second retroreflectors of the second distributed resonator maybe such that the second distributed resonator reflects light incident atits first retroreflector with high reflectivity in a comb ofwavelengths, the spacing of the comb of wavelengths being such that aplurality of the regions of high reflectivity fall within the wavelengthband within which the laser gain medium enables lasing. In such a case,the reflectivity of the output retroreflector of the first distributedresonator may be sufficiently low that the first distributed resonatordoes not lase at wavelengths between the comb of wavelengths.

Additionally, in other implementations of such a distributed resonatorlaser system, the second distributed resonator may continue to reflectlight with high reflectivity in a comb of wavelengths when the positionof the second resonator mirror changes. Alternatively, the highreflectivity comb of wavelengths of the second distributed resonator mayenable the first distributed resonator to continue to lase as theposition of the second resonator mirror changes.

In any of the above described distributed resonator laser systems, thereflectance of the second resonator mirror of the second distributedresonator may be substantially less than the reflectance of the outputretroreflector of the first distributed resonator, and the reflectancemay even be less than 50%, such that the majority of power circulatingin the second distributed resonator can be coupled out through itssecond resonator mirror.

Still other exemplary implementations described in this disclosure mayinvolve a distributed resonator laser system, comprising:

(i) a first distributed resonator comprising:

(a) a rear retroreflector having high reflectivity,

(b) a laser gain medium and

(c) an output retroreflector, having a reflectivity substantially lessthan that of the rear retroreflector,

wherein the output retroreflector is also a first mirror of a seconddistributed resonator, having a second resonator mirror disposedremotely from the first mirror, such that for light within the firstdistributed resonator impinging on the output retroreflector at an anglethat excites a resonance in the second resonator, the second distributedresonator has, at a series of periodic wavelengths, an effectivereflectivity substantially higher than that of the outputretroreflector, such that the first distributed resonator lases at theperiodic wavelengths.

In such a distributed resonator laser system, the reflectivity of theoutput retroreflector of the first distributed resonator may besufficiently low that the first distributed resonator does not lase atwavelengths between the periodic wavelengths. Furthermore, the remotelydisposed second resonator mirror of the second distributed resonatorshould be a retroreflector, such that the second distributed resonatorcontinues to resonate when the position of the second resonator mirrorchanges. In such a situation, the continued resonating of the seconddistributed resonator enables the first distributed resonator tocontinue to lase as the position of the second resonator mirror changes.

In any of the last described set of distributed resonator laser systems,the reflectance of the second resonator mirror of the second distributedresonator may be substantially less than the reflectance of the outputretroreflector of the first distributed resonator, and the reflectancemay even be less than 50%, such that the majority of power circulatingin the second distributed resonator can be coupled out through itssecond resonator mirror.

A further example of the apparati described in this disclosure is adistributed laser comprising:

(i) a first retroreflector acting as a back mirror of the distributedlaser,

(ii) a gain medium, positioned within the field of view of the firstretroreflector,

(iii) a second retroreflector having a partially reflective surface,

(iv) a third retroreflector comprising the partially reflective surface,the third retroreflector being disposed on the opposite side of thepartially reflective surface to the first retroreflector and the gainmedium, and

(v) a fourth retroreflector,

wherein the retroreflectors are serially disposed, with the fourthretroreflector facing the third retroreflector and remotely located fromthe third retroreflector.

In this distributed laser, the second retroreflector should be disposedwithin the field of view of the first retroreflector. Also, the gainmedium should be within the field of view of the second retroreflector.In any of these distributed laser systems, the power through theentrance pupil to the fourth retroreflector divided by the area of thegain medium may be not more than 10% of the saturation intensity of thegain medium. Additionally, the diameter of the fourth retroreflector maybe smaller than the beam diameter as measured at its 1/e² point, on thefourth retroreflector.

Other exemplary implementations may further involve an amplifyingretroreflector system, comprising:

(i) a first retroreflector having a first field of view,

(ii) a second retroreflector having a second field of view, and

(iii) a gain medium capable of amplifying light resonating between thefirst and second retroreflectors,

wherein the reflectivity of the second retroreflector may be selected tohave a value significantly smaller than the reciprocal of the gain ofthe gain medium. In such a situation,

the first field of view and the second field of view may be essentiallyoverlapping.

Still other example implementations involve a resonator couplerassembly, for coupling together two distributed resonators, comprising:

(i) a first retroreflector, comprising a first focusing element and atleast one partially transmissive mirror, and

(ii) a second retroreflector, comprising a second focusing elementdisposed on the opposite side of the at least one partially transmissivemirror to that of the first focusing element,

such that light incident on the first retroreflector should betransmitted through the at least one partially transmissive mirror tothe second retroreflector. In such an assembly, at least one of thefirst and second focusing elements may be lenses.

Finally, according to yet further implementations of the systemsdescribed in this disclosure, there is provided a distributed lighttransmission system comprising a first distributed resonator comprising,

(a) a first retroreflector having a first partially transmissivesurface, and

(b) a second retroreflector having a second partially transmissivesurface,

wherein the first and second retroreflectors are disposed such thatlight entering the first distributed resonator through the firstpartially transmissive surface undergoes multiple reflections betweenthe first and second retroreflectors, and generates a large number ofperiodic wavelengths at which the resonator exhibits high reflectivity,dependent on the angle of incidence and the location where the light isincident on the first partially transmissive surface.

In such a distributed light transmission system, the light incident onthe first partially transmissive surface may be laser light generated ina second distributed resonator having a gain medium, and the firstdistributed resonator may be the output mirror of the second distributedresonator having a gain medium, such that the lasing of the seconddistributed resonator is enabled at the periodic wavelengths associatedwith the high reflectivities of the first distributed resonator. In sucha system, a large number of the periodic wavelengths fall within thewavelength band where the laser gain medium can lase, such that thelasing is enabled for essentially any angle of incidence of the laserlight on the first partially transmissive surface.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The present invention will be understood and appreciated more fully fromthe following detailed description, taken in conjunction with thedrawings in which:

FIG. 1 illustrates schematically an exemplary sample of a doubleresonator distributed laser of the type described in the presentapplication;

FIG. 2 shows the characteristics of the interference response ofparallel oriented mirrors of the free space resonator of FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 illustrates how the reflectivity of the partial reflector wouldappear from a position in the main resonator;

FIG. 4 is a side view of the free space portion of the double resonatorof FIG. 1;

FIG. 5 to FIG. 8 illustrate schematically a number of alternativeimplementations of the coupled distributed resonators described in FIG.1 to FIG. 4;

FIG. 9 illustrates schematically a further implementation of the coupleddistributed resonators of the present disclosure, in the form of anintrusion detection system;

FIGS. 10A and 10B show a distributed laser system, comprising fourintercoupled resonators, thereby increasing the coupling of the mainlasing cavity with the other resonators, and

FIG. 11 illustrates yet another double cavity coupled distributedresonator laser in which the coupling is achieved by means ofoverlapping sections of the main lasing resonator and the ancillary freespace resonator.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Reference is now made to FIG. 1, which illustrates schematically anexemplary sample of a double resonator distributed laser of the typedescribed in the present application. As with the distributed resonatorlasers of the above referenced PCT applications, the laser system can bedivided into two main physically separated subsystems, a transmitter 9which includes the gain medium, and a receiver 10 which is adapted toextract energy circulating in the laser system, for use in a deviceremote from the transmitter 9. However, the system shown in FIG. 1differs from that in the prior art in that whereas the previouslydescribed distributed laser includes a single distributed resonator,having a gain medium positioned between a pair of retroreflector endmirrors, one in the transmitter and one in the receiver, the system ofFIG. 1 incorporates two coupled distributed resonators, one 11 beingdisposed exclusively in the transmitter 9, and the other 12 beingincorporating in both the transmitter 9 and the receiver 10. Thedistributed resonator disposed exclusively within the transmitter 9 istermed the main distributed resonator 11, and incorporates the gainmedium 3 of the lasing system. The distributed resonator which spansboth the transmitter 9 and the receiver 10 is called, in thisdisclosure, the free space distributed resonator 12.

The main resonator 11 includes a back reflector mirror 1, the gainmedium 3, advantageously in the form of a flat “disk” such that it cansupport lasing over an acceptably large field of view, and a partialreflector mirror 5, which is the second end mirror of the main resonator11. As will be explained below, the partial reflector mirror 5 may havea reflectivity of the order of 60%, or even less, such that the mainresonator may not have a gain sufficiently high to overcome internalresonator and other losses, and the cavity may not lase at all in theabsence of a receiver, or if it does, the mode will be weak and notoptimized. Rays emitted from any point on back reflector mirror 1 alonga direction normal to the surface of that mirror, impinge on partialreflector mirror 5 in a direction similar to the axis normal to thesurface of partial reflector 5 and, if reflected will return to the sameposition on back mirror 1. This is achieved because lens 2, positionedapproximately at its focal length f from back mirror 1 directs such raystowards a focal point at the center of gain medium 3, also located afocal length f from lens 2. Such an arrangement of lens 2 and mirror 1disposed a single focal length apart, creates a retroreflector having anentrance/exit pupil located a single focal length f from the lens, inthe direction opposite to that of the mirror 1, and the gain medium issituated at that point. Thus, the rays shown in FIG. 1 emitted from asingle point on the back reflector 1, over a field of view having arange of angles, will fill the pupil situated at the position of thegain medium. In the exemplary implementation shown in FIG. 1, the gainmedium incorporates a reflective back surface such that it is areflective gain medium, rather than a transmissive gain medium. Such areflective configuration is a common configuration for use in suchsystems for space saving and cooling purposes. It is to be understoodthough that the systems of the present disclosure are intended to beequally operable using a transmissive gain medium. A similarretroreflector with an entrance/exit pupil on the gain medium 3 isformed by another lens 4 and partial reflector 5, with the lens 4disposed a single focal length f from the partial reflector 5.

The result of this optical structure is that every ray transmitted fromany point, along the optical axis of back mirror 1 resonates betweenpartial reflector 5 and mirror 1 passing through the center of gainmedium 3 on every pass. Main resonator 11 is thus a distributedresonator that it is capable of resonating, but not necessarily lasing,between any point on surfaces 1 and 5. Main resonator 11 has an inherentloss that is greater than the transmission of partial reflector 5 and again which is determined by gain medium 3, which is typically less thanthe loss. The main resonator may be located in a fixed position and maybe properly sealed from dust and other contaminants.

The free space distributed resonator 12 is formed in a similar manner,between partial reflector 5 on the transmitter, and output coupler 8 onthe receiver. One end mirror of this resonator is a firstretro-reflector formed from partial reflector 5 and lens 6 placedapproximately a single focal length therefrom, having an entrance/exitpupil located along the axis of the lens and one focal length from it,on the side opposite that of partial reflector 5. A secondretro-reflector is formed in the receiver, comprising output coupler 8with lens 7 placed one focal length from it. It has an entrance/exitpupil located one focal length from the lens 7, along the lens's centralaxis away from output coupler 8. Rays transmitted from partial reflector5 which pass through the pupils of both retro-reflectors, will return tothe same position on partial reflector 5 after each round trip throughthe free space distributed resonator 12.

The free space distributed resonator 12, formed between its firstretroreflector 5/6 and its second retroreflector 7/8, is different fromthe main resonator 11 in that its second retro-reflector 7/8 is situatedon the receiver 10, and the receiver is free to move. Consequently, theregion between the components of the free space resonator 12 is exposedto dust, fingerprints, and other environmental contamination.

However, more importantly, the free space resonator 12 is alsocharacterized in that it is a simple passive resonator, without any gainmedium. Light entering this resonator through the partial reflectivemirror 5, resonates inside the free space resonator 12 between theretro-reflector 7/8 situated on the receiver 10 and the partiallyreflecting mirror 5. Consequently, the light undergoesconstructive/destructive interference with itself, so that thereflection of light incident on the partial reflecting mirror 5 from themain resonator 11, through the point corresponding to the direction ofthe receiver, varies from the level of incident light that would bereflected back into the main resonator 11 in the absence of the freespace resonator 12. Some of the wavelengths have a higher reflectivity,and some a lower reflectivity. Use of the high reflectivity regions isthe basis for the coupling mechanism between the two resonators, whichis used for generating the lasing of the systems of the presentdisclosure.

Reference is now made to FIG. 2, which is a typical graph of thetransmission/reflection characteristic of the free space resonator 12,as a function of the wavelength of light falling on the partialreflecting mirror 5. At some wavelengths, those between the peaks ofFIG. 2, the effective reflection of light impinging on the free spaceresonator is increased, while at others, those at the peaks of theresponse shown in FIG. 2, it is decreased. This graph is characteristicof the interference response of parallel oriented mirrors, such as anetalon. However, because of the large distance between the mirrors,being of the order of 10⁶λ, or more for the applications intended forthe distributed resonators of the present disclosure, the free spectralrange (FSR) of the free space resonator is extremely small. The FSR isgiven by the expression:FSR=c/2ηdWhere:η is the refractive index of the inter-mirror medium, andd is the distance between the mirrors.

Thus, in the example shown in FIG. 2, for a mirror spacing of 3 m.between transmitter and receiver, as would be typical for a distributedlaser system used to transfer optical power from a ceiling mountedtransmitter to a remote portable electronic device across a room, theFSR would be approximately 5 MHz., corresponding to wavelength peakseparations of only 0.00002 nm. The result is an extremely dense comb ofhigh and low reflection regions, as shown in the abscissa axis scale inthe exemplary graph of FIG. 2.

This characteristic wavelength response of the free space resonator 12is now applied to the coupled resonator structure of the presentdisclosure. The result is that during operation, while most of thesurface area of the partial reflector 5 will have a nominallyapproximately 60% reflection level (for the non-limiting example used inthis implementation), for light impinging from the main resonator, therewill be a point on the partial reflector 5 surface which excites aresonant mode with receiver mirror 8. Rays transmitted through thatpoint on the surface of the partial reflector 5 at a wavelengthcorresponding to a high reflection region of the free space resonatorcharacteristic, will experience reflection greater than the exemplary60% reflection level of partial reflector 5, due to the interferencecharacteristic between the returning beams and the incoming beams of thefree space resonator 12. This higher reflection from the highreflectivity point on partial reflector 5 generates a mode inside mainresonator 11 which passes through this point, having lower losses thanmodes passing through all other points on partial reflector 5, thoseother modes impinging on the effectively low reflection/hightransmission regions of the partial reflector 5. If the resultingreduced mode losses for the mode traversing this point results in lesscavity losses compared to the available gain of gain medium 3, lasingmay then commence through this high reflectivity path. Such a mode willbe directed through the “active point” of partial reflector 5, andtowards the receiver 10. Although the mode may be generated only forsome specific wavelengths where the reflection of the free spaceresonator is high, because of the dense wavelength comb of theresonator, there will always be many such wavelengths that will excitelasing over the lasing bandwidth of the gain medium material. Thewavelength criterion thus becomes irrelevant in this arrangement.

If the receiver were disposed exactly on the transmitter's axis, this“high reflectivity spot” or “active spot” would also be axial, at thecenter of the partial reflector 5, assuming it to be axis-symmetric.However, the system of the present disclosure is a distributed resonatorsystem, whose function is to connect optically with a receiver in a handheld device which can roam over the area of the field of view of thetransmitter, such that as the receiver moves, the high reflectivity spotmoves accordingly over the surface of the partial reflector 5, tomaintain the high reflectivity lasing mode with the receiver.

Reference is now made to FIG. 3, which illustrates how the reflectivityof the partial reflector 5 would appear from a position in the mainresonator 11. It would appear as a mirror with constant reflectivity—60%in the example shown—but having a point 30 on it which reflects lightdifferently, sometimes more than the constant reflectivity and sometimesless, as a function of the wavelength in accordance with the wavelengthcharacteristic shown in FIG. 2. The positions of the spot 30 will bedependent on the position of the receiver 10 in the field of view of thetransmitter 9. As mentioned previously, because of the length of freespace resonators used in the applications of the present disclosure, thefree space resonator has a very dense wavelength comb, such that thewavelength parameter becomes aggregated and hence irrelevant. Therefore,there will always be an averaged ensemble of high reflectivitywavelengths over the lasing range of the given gain medium.

Only through this active spot 30, is the main resonator capable ofgenerating a lasing mode, provided that the reflectivity of the spot 30is high enough compared to the main resonator losses and the availablegain in the gain medium. Such a lasing mode would have the followingcharacteristics:

(i) It would be focused on or around, the “active point” 30 on thepartial reflector

(ii) It would be supported by the first resonator

(iii) It would be directed towards the receiver

(iv) As the receiver is moved around, the “active point” on the partialreflector will also move, and the main resonator lasing mode will trackthe movement of the active spot on the partial reflector, since it isonly through the high reflectivity at that active spot that the lossesin the main resonator can be overcome sufficiently for the mainresonator to lase.

Reference is now made to FIG. 4, which is a side view of the free spaceresonator 12 of FIG. 1, showing the high reflectivity mode capable ofexciting lasing from the main resonator, extending from the active spot30 on the partial reflector 5 of the transmitter, to the back mirror 8in the receiver. This back mirror 8 acts as an output coupler to extractenergy from the lasing mode for use in the receiver. As the receivermoves around, the high reflectivity mode moves with it, and the activespot on the partial reflector 5 moves accordingly to maintain lasingthrough the high reflectivity mode.

One outcome of the lasing scheme of the combination coupled distributedresonator system described in FIGS. 1 to 4 is that by use of the freespace resonator interacting with the main resonator, the main resonatorcan achieve two previously contradictory targets—it can maintain lasingover a wide field of view, and it can do so even though the gain mediumis such that the field of view generated would not conventionallyprovide sufficient gain to support lasing. This is achieved by using thefree space resonator to generate a small spot, high reflectivity “endmirror” for the main resonator, which provides sufficient reflectivityto support lasing in an otherwise lossy cavity.

A practical outcome of this combination is that while the reflectivityof the output coupler of the main resonator, this being just the activespot on the partial reflector 5, must be high in order to maintainlasing, the output coupler of the free space resonator does not need tobe a high reflectivity mirror, since the reflectivity characteristics ofthe free space resonator are defined by the interference properties ofthe resonator, and not just by the reflectivity of the end mirror. Anend mirror having a reflectivity in the range of only 5%-30% issufficient to enable the free space resonator to have a sufficientlyhigh reflectivity. Such an end mirror enables 70-95% of the incidentpower to be coupled out to the receiver load. Consequently, whereas thecirculating power within the main resonator mode where the gain mediumis situated and where the lasing originates is high, roughly at thelevel of the gain medium's saturation intensity times its area, thepower within the free space resonator is much lower, being only 5%-30%more than the power coupled out of the receiver. This feature isimportant for two reasons:

(i) the low power of the laser mode propagating within the free spaceresonator ensures a higher safety level than that of the prior artdistributed resonator lasing systems, in which the intra-cavity lasingpower propagates through the free space between the transmitter and thereceiver; and(ii) any losses in the free space resonator, such as from fingerprintsor other contamination, or from diffraction or other optical phenomenaon optical elements of the receiver, or from atmospheric contaminationbetween the transmitter and receiver, have much less effect than similarlosses would on the prior art distributed resonator lasing systems. Thisarises because although such losses alter the total reflectivity of theactive point, any change in the reflectivity is attenuated by theinterference effect, making the combination system more resilient tolosses. The resilience may be controlled by changing the reflectivityparameters of the free space resonator.

As an additional benefit, aberrations in the free space resonator willgenerally alter one or more of the size of the active point, its shape,and its reflectivity, thereby enabling detection of such aberrations byobserving the beam shape and for example, its response to suchaberrations. However, a double resonator distributed laser, inaccordance with this disclosure, is relatively resilient to aberrations.As a result, higher resilience towards aberrations can be achieved.

In summary, the combination coupled distributed resonator schemedescribed hereinabove has the following advantages over prior art singlecavity distributed resonators:

(i) From the receiver's point of view, the transmitter would appear toimitate a transmitter with significantly higher gain, in that it canboth overcome losses and aberrations, and can maintain lasing withsignificantly lower back reflections.

(ii) The transmitter has a larger field of view, comparable to thatobtained with a gain medium having much lower gain, while at the sametime, maintaining a high gain.

(iii) Since the lasing takes place over a small part of the crosssection of the resonator beams, it is possible to use significantlysmaller receiver retroreflectors, such that the receiver size can bereduced, as is desirable for use in a mobile electronic device, such asa cellular phone.(iv) Such systems are generally more resilient to losses and aberrationsin the free space distributed resonator part, compared to the prior artsingle resonator distributed laser systems.(v) Such systems allow for use of output couplers, reflecting an orderof magnitude less light compared to those of the prior art singleresonator distributed laser systems.

In addition to the above described implementations in FIGS. 1 to 4,which utilize cats' eye types of retroreflectors, generally comprising amirror and a focussing lens disposed one focal length therefrom, it ispossible to implement the optical arrangements of the present disclosureusing corner cube retroreflectors, and associated ring resonators.

Reference is now made to FIGS. 5 to 8, which illustrate a number of suchalternative implementations of such coupled distributed resonatorsdescribed in this disclosure. FIG. 5 shows a configuration using cornercubes instead of cat eyes as used in the previous implementations ofthis disclosure. The main resonator 51 contains the gain medium 52,situated on one of the mirrors of a corner cube 53, and the mainresonator is closed at its other end by means of a partial reflectivemirror 54. This partial reflector 54 is disposed between twoback-to-back corner cube retroreflectors 55, 56, one of which 55 beingassociated with the main resonator 51, and the other 56 with the freespace resonator 50. The partial reflective mirror 54 is thus common toboth resonators, and acts as the coupling component between the tworesonators. The other end of the free space resonator 50 is located inthe receiver, and the resonator is closed with another corner cuberetroreflector 57, which has also as the output coupler for the completesystem. Since corner cubes are being used as the retroreflectors, thereare two circulating modes in each resonator, such that there are twointerference effects instead of one in this configuration.

Reference is now made to FIG. 6, in which the retroreflector 57 in thereceiver has been replaced with retroreflective film, 60. Since however,the retroreflector at the input end of the free space resonator stillhas a corner cube retroreflector 56, the free space resonator stilloperates as a ring cavity.

In FIG. 7, on the other hand, both of the retroreflectors 60, 61 of thefree space cavity have been replaced by retroreflective film, such thata single ray 62 configuration exists in that resonator, allowing the useof intra-cavity optics. The same configuration would be obtained usingcats eyes' retroreflectors.

In FIG. 8, single beam configuration has been obtained by use ofappropriate retroreflectors for all of the end mirrors of the system,including a cats eye retroreflector, shown as a lens and a planarreflector located at the focal plane of the lens, 81 at the gain mediumend of the main cavity, and a single beam propagates through the system.This allows use of optics, such as an intra-cavity telescope 80, such asis described in the above-mentioned WO/2012/172541 patent application.

Besides the above described implementations of coupled resonators indistributed laser applications, it is possible to utilize the free spaceresonator of such coupled resonators in order to detect anomolies in thetransmission of a beam through the free space resonator, whether or nota gain medium is used in the main resonator. A distributed resonator,such as the resonator described in FIG. 4 may be used to enhance thesensitivity of measurements of the optical properties of componentsinserted within the free space cavity, such as their absorption oraberrations. For example, if a light source is used to illuminatepartial reflector 30 of FIG. 4, the portion of that light falling on the“active point” on partial reflector 30 would start to resonate betweenpartial reflector 30 and output coupler 8 allowing some wavelengths topass through said distributed resonator system efficiently, while otherwavelengths are reflected by it. If an absorber is then placed insidethe free space resonator, it will affect the transmission of theresonator strongly, as the light within the resonator passes throughthat absorber many times. The change in transmission of the lightthrough the absorbing element is thus amplified by the Q-factor of theresonator, thereby increasing the detection sensitivity.

Likewise, if an aberration is present inside the free space resonator,it will alter one or more of the shape, size, and reflectivity of thesystem. Measurement of any of the transmission, wavelength comb,interference pattern and beam shape of the light transmitted throughsuch a distributed resonator is thus very sensitive. Such a measurementcan be used to enable a very sensitive and robust detection system, inwhich an object entering the beam would create any of absorption,diffraction, scattering and interference, which can be easily detectedusing such a system.

Reference is now made to FIG. 9, which illustrates a furtherimplementation of the coupled distributed resonators of the presentdisclosure, in the form of an intrusion detection system. The systemmakes use of the above-mentioned high sensitivity which can be obtainedfrom changes in the optical path of the free space resonator. FIG. 9 isa schematic illustration of the component parts of such an exemplarysystem.

The system comprises a transmitter 90 and a remote receiver 91. Thetransmitter incorporates a light source 92, which could be anindependent source, or a laser source. The light from the source iscollimated by collimator 93, and the collimated light is directed onto ahigh reflectivity reflector 94, which typically reflects most of thelight back into the transmitter, typically 99.99% or even more. Thesmall level of light transmitted by this reflector 94 passes throughlens 95, and out of the transmitter as a beam 96 directed towards thereceiver 91, through the region 97 to be surveilled. The receiver 91comprises a partially transmissive retroreflector and a detector 100. Inthe example system shown, the partially transmissive retroreflector ismade up of the combination of lens 98 and partial reflector 99positioned at the focal plane of the lens. Likewise, the output lens 95of the transmitter in conjunction with the reflector 94, acts as aretroreflector facing the receiver retroreflector. This combination ofthe two facing retroreflectors thus constitutes a free space resonator,which is fed with the very low level light emitted by the transmitter.However, the multiplication effect of the Q-value of the free spaceresonator increases the sensitivity of detection, thus enabling thesystem to detect changes in such a low level beam. The very low level oflight emitted from transmitter 90 also make it very difficult to detectthe light in the region to be surveilled 97, and is also very safe.Because of the wide band effect of the dense wavelength comb, the sourcedoes not need to be a monochromatic or even coherent source, since thefree space resonator will choose wavelengths which give constructiveinterference.

The system operates as follows. When the receiver 91 is in the field ofview of the transmitter 90, a beam 96 passing between the transmitter 90and receiver 91 will create an interference effect altering thetransmission and reflecting properties of high reflector 94 so that beam96 may pass and eventually reach detector 100. Any perturbation to thisbeam in the region to be surveilled 97 result in a large change in thelevel of the beam output onto the detector 100, and the change in outputsignal from the detector can be processed by a controller (not shown) toprovide an indication of the intrusion. This system has a number ofadvantages over prior art optical intrusion detection methods. Thecurrent system would require essentially no alignment or minimalalignment, just to ensure that the receiver 91 was within the field ofview of the transmitter 90. Without the use of the receiver 91 of thepresent implementation, it would be necessary to use a collimated beamwhich would need to be carefully aligned in order to accurately transferpower from the source to the detector. Such a beam would generally needto be a laser beam in order to provide a sufficiently collimated beamover the distance is required to monitor intrusions. If a collimatedbeam were to be used, a substantially higher power level would berequired because of the divergence of the beam, and the system wouldhave the additional disadvantages of no longer being covert, and hence,easier to circumvent. An additional advantage of the present system isthat it could also be used for a covert communication channel having avery low level of optical power propagating in the inconvenience space.

All of the above implementations have described systems in which themain lasing resonator is coupled to a single free space resonator.However, it is possible to couple the main lasing resonator to acombination of alternative secondary free space resonators. Reference isnow made to FIGS. 10A and 10B which illustrate operational modes of onesuch example, with the receiver in two alternate positions, toillustrate how the field of view is created.

In FIGS. 10A and 10B, there is shown a distributed laser system,comprising a transmitter 17 and a receiver 20. Like the previousimplementations of FIGS. 1-8, this distributed laser is capable ofoperating as the receiver 20 moves within the field of view of thetransmitter. FIGS. 10A and 10B show two different positions of thereceiver 20. Transmitter 17 comprises a gain medium 100 capable ofamplifying light resonating within the system, a retroreflector 13aligned so that it can retroreflect beams coming from gain medium 100,and having an entrance/exit pupil in the vicinity of gain medium 100.The retroreflector 13 may consist of a cat's eye type of retroreflector,conveniently made up of lens 110 and mirror 120, or any other types ofretroreflectors such as corner cubes, high index glass balls, phaseconjugating mirrors, and the like.

The system of FIGS. 10A and 10B differs from the previous systems shownin FIGS. 1-8 in that the transmitter 17 also comprises a gain matchingunit 16 for matching the gain of gain medium 100 to the sum of theoutput coupling of receiver 20 and the optical beam path losses duringpropagation to the receiver 20. Transmitter 17 may also, optionally,include a pupil imaging unit 21 which may image gain medium 100 onto theoperational pupil 22 of the gain matching unit 16.

Gain matching unit 16 comprises a resonator 15 a-15 b which incorporatesa beam splitting surface 14 within its volume. The exemplary resonator15 a-15 b shown in FIGS. 10A and 10B consists of at least two reflectivecomponents 15 a and 15 b which may be curved mirrors, retroreflectors orother types of reflectors, forming a linear or ring resonator having apupil near beam splitting surface 14

The receiver 20 comprises a retroreflector, shown in the example of FIG.10A, 10B as a cat's eye retroreflector, comprising lens 18 and partialreflective mirror 19, which also acts as output coupler. However, anyother type of retroreflector may be used, such as a corner cubes, a highindex glass ball, a phase conjugate mirror, or even a concave curvedmirror. The output coupler may be achieved by a partially reflectivesurface, a partially transmissive surface, an absorbing surface, or anaperture which reflects, transmits, or absorbs part of the light.

During lasing operation, beam 101 a resonates between retroreflector 13and retroreflector 20, in a similar manner to the operation of thetwo-coupled distributed resonator systems of FIGS. 1-8. However, at thesame time, because the beam 101 a traverses the beam splitter 14 at thepupil of resonator 15 a-15 b, part of the beam is coupled into resonator15 a-15 b as beam 101 b, which resonates inside resonator 15 a-15 b. Atthe same time, light from beam 101 b is also coupled back into beam 101a by means of the partially transmissive surface 14.

The beam 101 b resonating inside resonator 15 a-15 b interferes with thebeam 101 a resonating inside the main transmitter resonator, and altersthe effective reflectivity of partial reflective surface 14 depending onthe wavelength of the light, in a similar manner to that described inrelation to the system of FIGS. 1-8. Lasing is enabled at a dense combof wavelengths at which the gain provided by gain medium 10 is at leastas large as the total losses for those wavelengths.

The system of FIGS. 10A and 10B thus resembles that of FIGS. 1-8 withthe exception that instead of a pair of coupled resonators, there arenow four degenerate resonators, as follows:

(a) The main resonator between retroreflector 13 and retroreflector 20

(b) The transverse resonator between reflectors 15 a and 15 b

(c) A resonator between retroreflector 13 and reflector 15 b through thebeam splitter 14, and

(d) A resonator between the retroreflector of receiver 20 and reflector15 b through the beam splitter 14.

The beams resonating inside all four of these 4 resonators all interferewith each other, thereby creating more combinations of resonatorcoupling which consequently provides more optical combinations forenabling lasing.

As is shown in FIG. 10B, as the receiver 20 moves, relative to thestatic transmitter 17, the coupling of the beam into resonator 15 a-15 bchanges, and the light path within resonator 15 a-15 b represents adifferent spatial mode. However, the increased reflectivity effect onthe main beam 101 a remains intact, thereby continuing lasing so long asthe receiver 20 is within the field of view of the transmitter 17.

Reference is now made to FIG. 11, which illustrates yet a furtherimplementation of the coupled distributed resonator laser systemsdescribed in the present disclosure. As previously, the system comprisesa transmitter 670 and a receiver 680. The transmitter 670 consists of aretroreflector 660, shown in this implementation as a lens 640 with aplane reflector 650 positioned at its back focal plane, having anentrance/exit pupil close to a partial reflector 630 and a reflectivegain medium 610 with its own back mirror. An imaging system 620 ispositioned such that it images gain medium 610 approximately ontopartial reflector 630. The receiver 680 consists, as previously, of aretroreflector and an output coupler.

The system thus incorporates two coupled distributed resonators, asfollows:

(a) Passive resonator (A hereinafter) running from retroreflector 660,and reflected in partial reflector 630 into receiver retroreflector 680;and

(b) Active resonator (B hereinafter) running from retroreflector 660,passing through the partial reflector 630, then through the imagingsystem 620, the reflective gain medium 610, back through the imagingsystem 620 again, this time transmitted through the partial reflector660 and into the receiver retroreflector 680.

Because of the partly overlapping beam paths of the two resonators,light is coupled out of resonator A into resonator B, and light iscoupled out of resonator B into resonator A. The two resonators thusinterfere and modify the reflection/transmission properties of partialreflector 630. Specifically, the gain of the active resonator B may besuch that the accumulated propagation, optical element and outputcoupled losses could not be overcome by the gain of the gain medium suchthat lasing could not take place, or could take place onlyinefficiently. However, the coupling of this main resonator B into theresonator A, which is essentially a free space passive resonator,enables the main resonator B to benefit from the interference effectstaking place inside resonator A, and to experience a local higherreflectivity output mirror, such that lasing can now be supported bymeans of the resonator coupling.

It is appreciated by persons skilled in the art that the presentinvention is not limited by what has been particularly shown anddescribed hereinabove. Rather the scope of the present inventionincludes both combinations and subcombinations of various featuresdescribed hereinabove as well as variations and modifications theretowhich would occur to a person of skill in the art upon reading the abovedescription and which are not in the prior art.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system for transmitting a beam of opticalpower, comprising: a transmitter having a first resonator comprising apartially reflective mirror and a laser gain medium, such that thetransmitter emits laser illumination towards a remote receiver; and asecond resonator comprising (i) a first retroreflector comprising a lensand the partially reflective mirror of the transmitter, the lens beingdisposed at essentially its focal distance in front of the partiallyreflective mirror, and (ii) a second retroreflector in the receiver,wherein the laser illumination falling on the receiver is retroreflectedback towards the transmitter in the form of a single beam comprising acomb of multiple wavelengths propagating between the transmitter and thereceiver, the comb of multiple wavelengths being generated byinterference of the light of the single beam propagating within thesecond resonator.
 2. The system according to claim 1 wherein thereceiver comprises a retroreflective film.
 3. The system according toclaim 1 wherein the spacing of the comb of wavelengths is such that aplurality of the wavelengths of the comb of multiple wavelengths fallwithin the wavelength band within which the laser gain medium enableslasing.
 4. The system according to claim 1 wherein the length of thesecond resonator is such that the multiple wavelengths of the comb havefrequencies that are separated by at least 5 Mhz.
 5. The systemaccording to claim 1 wherein the laser illumination in the form of asingle laser beam enables the insertion of intra-resonator optics. 6.The system according to claim 1 wherein the second resonator is disposedserially to the first resonator, such that the first retroreflector ofthe second resonator comprises the partially reflective mirror of thefirst resonator and the lens.
 7. A system for transmitting a beam ofoptical power, comprising: a transmitter having a first resonatorcomprising a partially reflective mirror and a laser gain medium, suchthat the transmitter emits laser illumination towards a remote receiver;and a second resonator comprising (i) a first retroreflector comprisinga lens and the partially reflective mirror of the transmitter, the lensbeing disposed at essentially its focal distance in front of thepartially reflective mirror, and (ii) a second retroreflector in thereceiver, such that the laser illumination falling on the receiver isretroreflected back towards the transmitter in the form of a single beamcomprising a comb of multiple wavelengths propagating between thetransmitter and the receiver, wherein the first resonator continues togenerate the laser beam as the position of the receiver changes.
 8. Thesystem according to claim 7 wherein the receiver comprises aretroreflective film.
 9. The system according to claim 7 wherein thespacing of the comb of wavelengths is such that a plurality of thewavelengths of the comb of multiple wavelengths fall within thewavelength band within which the laser gain medium enables lasing. 10.The system according to claim 7 wherein the length of the secondresonator is such that the multiple wavelengths of the comb havefrequencies that are separated by at least 5 Mhz.
 11. The systemaccording to claim 7 wherein the laser illumination in the form of asingle laser beam enables the insertion of intra-resonator optics. 12.The system according to claim 7 wherein the second resonator is disposedserially to the first resonator, such that the first retroreflector ofthe second resonator comprises the partially reflective mirror of thefirst resonator and the lens.